| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Bullying
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will publish statistics on homophobic and racist bullying within (a) schools and (b) colleges; and if she will make a statement. [7642]
Mr. Timms: Bullying can put the emotional well-being and educational achievement of young people at risk. All schools should treat bullying seriously and take steps to combat it whenever and wherever it occurs. From September 1999 head teachers of maintained schools have been under a duty to draw up measures to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils, including racist or homophobic bullying.
Further education colleges are not under a legal duty to prevent bullying or harassment but most do draw up policies in this area. Students who experience problems can usually receive counselling or pastoral help.
We do not have reliable statistics on the incidence of bullying in schools and are not aware that such data exist for colleges. Our role is mainly to provide advice to schools on how to prevent bullying and deal with any which occurs.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the Government's strategy to deal with homophobic and racist bullying within schools and colleges. [7643]
Mr. Timms: Bullying can put the emotional well-being and educational achievement of young people at risk. All schools should treat bullying seriously and take steps to combat it whenever and wherever it occurs. From September 1999 head teachers of maintained schools have been under a duty to draw up measures to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils, including racist or homophobic bullying.
Last December we launched a new anti-bullying strategy, comprising among other things a new pack for schools and accompanying video aimed at pupils. There is also a new anti-bullying website at www.dfes.gov.uk/ bullying. The pack provides detailed advice on tackling bullying because of race or sexual orientation (the latter for the first time). It also mentions that heads can permanently exclude pupils responsible for persistent or violent bullying. The key message of our strategy is that victims should report bullying to someone they trust and not suffer in silence.
We have recently provided a short foreword to 'Safe for All: a best practice guide to prevent homophobic bullying in secondary schools' published by Stonewall.
16 Oct 2001 : Column: 1190W
Further education colleges are not under a legal duty to prevent bullying or harassment but most do draw up policies in this area. Students who experience problems can usually receive counselling or pastoral help.
Teacher Shortages (Surrey)
Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of teacher shortages in Surrey; which are the shortage subjects and age groups; what steps she has taken to tackle teacher shortages in Surrey; and what the average sum per school is (a) in Surrey and (b) nationally allocated by her Department to deal with this. [7703]
Mr. Timms: The Department collects statistics on teacher vacancies annually. In January this year the vacancy rate in Surrey was 1.4 per cent. compared with a rate of 1.3 per cent. in England as a whole. Officials have maintained regular contact with Surrey local education authority over recent months and I am pleased to be able to report that schools in Surrey are operating normally. Recruitment is more difficult in secondary schools, particularly in the shortage subject areas of mathematics, science, English, modern languages or technology. The Government have put in place a range of measures such as training bursaries, "Golden Hellos" and the welcome back bonus to boost teacher recruitment. We have provided £33 million in funding to be devolved to schools to put in place local recruitment and retention initiatives. Surrey received £650,000 from the recruitment and retention fund. Ninety per cent. of this was targeted at secondary schools giving an average of around £11,000 per secondary school in Surrey. In England the average allocation was around £9,000 per secondary school. The fund was targeted at areas of greatest need and not all schools will have received an allocation.
Golden Jubilee
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans her Department has to distribute (a) coins and (b) other commemorative items to school children to mark the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen. [8035]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 15 October 2001]: We have no plans to distribute coins or other commemorative items to school children. However, my Department is planning a range of innovative projects to mark Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee, such as a national poetry competition, which we announced jointly with Buckingham Palace on 4 October. Further announcements will be made in due course.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Police Complaints Authority
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will announce new appointments to the Police Complaints Authority. [8320]
Mr. Denham: I have appointed five new full-time members to the Police Complaints Authority. Their appointments will be for three years. The five new members are as follows.
16 Oct 2001 : Column: 1191W
Drug-related Crime
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support he has given to Cambridgeshire constabulary to tackle drug-related crime. [6169]
Mr. Denham: The following allocations have been made by the Home Office to support the Cambridgeshire constabulary in tackling drug related crime:
| Initiative | ||
|---|---|---|
| Arrest Referral Schemes | Communities Against Drugs Initiative | |
| 2000–01 | 106,800 | (20)— |
| 2001–02 | 216,480 | (21)643,700 |
(20) Initiative commenced 2001–02
(21) Although this sum was allocated to the two Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Partnerships (£446,800 and £196,900 to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough respectively), the police are major stakeholders in the initiative, which is aimed at tackling drug related crime within local communities
In addition, as members of the local Crime and Disorder Partnerships and Drug Action Teams, the Cambridgeshire constabulary has access to other forms of Home Office funding for projects and initiatives which contribute, either directly or indirectly, to reducing drug-related crime.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of criminal offences were drug-related in the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [7294]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: It is difficult to calculate a single percentage figure reflecting precisely what proportion of all crimes is drug-related since no statistical data are collected on offences that may have been committed due to drug taking. However, information is collected on the number of drug offences. Details of the number of persons convicted of or cautioned for drug offences and as a proportion of persons convicted of or cautioned for all indictable offences in England and Wales during the period 1995–99 are given in the table.
| Drug offences | All indictable offences | Drug offences as a percentage of all indictable offences | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 88,463 | 504,800 | 17.5 |
| 1996 | 88,920 | 491,400 | 18.1 |
| 1997 | 105,214 | 509,400 | 20.7 |
| 1998 | 120,776 | 533,500 | 22.6 |
| 1999 | 111,377 | 512,600 | 21.7 |
Source:
Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate
16 Oct 2001 : Column: 1192W
Huntingdon Life Sciences
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to visit Huntingdon Life Sciences. [6170]
Mr. Blunkett: I have no plans at present to visit Huntingdon Life Sciences. My predecessor visited on 26 April. Since becoming Home Secretary I have held a number of discussions aimed at ensuring businesses and individuals involved in important scientific research where animal experimentation is necessary can safely carry on their work without impediment from those who try to intimidate or obstruct them.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |